Thursday, February 10, 2011

I actually bought this off a guy at the local Sunday toy "flea" market." He'd sold off one of the Ground Assault Drones and he gave me a real good price of S$38 (US$29) for the remaining 3 figures...which was awesome because I managed to get the much coveted Nick Fury and one of the Assault Drones!

Finally!

What of the movie-accurate painted Iron Man Mark VI, you ask? Well, it has a missing left hand and a twisted right leg. -__- Yes, this was a factory packed, sealed, MIB package. But hey, I got a big-ass discount because of it. :). Actually the guy charged me for the drone and Fury and threw in the Mk VI. But some hot water should fix the leg, and a spare hand can be easy found, either off my old Mark VI or an old GI Joe figure. I'd probably just have to repaint the hand that but it's only a tiny part so it's all good. :)

Then weeks later, The Rangerlord finds this very 4-pack for S$60-ish (US$46-ish) but he only wanted the Fury. So guess who snapped up the Ground Assault Drones from him? No, not Chuck Norris. Me! :P

So is the much coveted Nick Fury worth, well, coveting? Is the Ground Assault Drone? Well, we're just gonna have to take a closer look, aren't we? ;)

Like: That Nick Fury looks exactly like Samuel L. Jackson. This is seriously one of the best face sculpts of an actor I've seen in a while on a 3.75" figure. And for those of you wondering why the good Sam Jackson was chosen to play Fury in the Marvel movies, you'll have to read the Ultimates (by Mark Millar and drawn by Bryan Hitch). I highly recommend it. Those guys were the ones who infused the character with the badassery that is Samuel Leroy Jackson! Hell, Yeah!!! (Yes, "L" stands for Leroy.)

Like: The detailed tooling of his face. The eye patch, the scars underneath, the look of disdainful badassness. They paid a lot of attention to get this right. It's a pity he only gets released in this Toys 'R' Us exclusive set...for now...

Like: Fury's personal softgoods cloak. It doesn't look stiff on him, is removable, and is 2000 times better than a molded rubber piece, which will for sure severely restrict his articulation.. This way he gets to keep his articulation and gains an extra accessory. Yay! Also, some Joe figures look real skinny without their coats/vests on, but Fury here still looks great coat-less!

Dislike: No usable holster. But who needs 'em? Certainly not SLJ. He just carries all the weapons he has on him in his hands so he can fire all 17 of them at once. It's Chuck Norris-like. In fact, if Chuck Norris were to have a successor if he ever went away after achieving Nirvana, it would have to be Sam "Badass" Jackson. But oh wait, Chuck Norris doesn't achieve Nirvana; Nirvana achieves Chuck Norris.

Dislike: That he's got GI Joe articulation (because he's made up of pieces of different Joes) and that means his arms can't quite come to the front to hold an assault rifle in the proper two-handed grip. I absolutely love that the reused body means he can use any of the Joes' weapons, but I'll be displaying him with a handgun and an assault rifle because he can't quite look as menacing with just one rifle.

Like: Ok I lied. I'll put any and every weapon Fury can hold on him for display--guns, grenades, knives,vests, helmets...ok maybe not helmets...but you get the picture. A Joe body means all Joe stuff will fit on him, so pimping him out with an arsenal will be no problem. Vehicles would also be a perfect fit! Now I'm gonna have to jettison some poor Joe from his vehicle and appropriate it for Fury.

Like: The desert sand color of the Ground Assault Drone! The finish is also nice and matte, giving it a real military vehicle look, like a hummer or a tank but in drone form. You could also imagine how he'd blend in with desert surroundings--cool!

Like: The US Flag on the GA Drone's chest and the rank (Lance Corporal) of the soldier in the suit on the arms of the drone! The former smacks of patriotism and letter, well, the U.S. Army!

Dislike: That you have to buy this set to get both the drones and Fury, neither of which was released individually. It's even worse that it's a Toys 'R' UsExclusive!

Like: The heavy artillery the drone carries that adds to his tank feel. With the super large shoulder cannon and the heavy armor plating, the Drone already looks kick-ass. But add to that the awesome foldable stabilizer plates on both his feet and this guy literally looks like a walking tank. What am I talking about? That's what he's meant to be so, uh...Sweet! ;)

Like: The GA Drone's joints--they make him way more flexible than he looks! The Shoulders and Hips are the Iron Man 2 Swivel-Ball combos, while his elbows, and ankles and thick hinges. The knees are equally solid in thickness, but they've also managed to give 'em a double hinges there like the rest of the figure of this line. These joints are all tight. Flexibility with stability. That's a winning combo for sure.

Dislike: That despite being deceptively flexible, some of the joints are blocked by sculpt. His shoulders can't be raised past 45 degrees tops, while the hip joints are blocked front and back so his legs can't kick forward or back. :( The shoulder cannon can only "hinge" up and down and has no swivel movement. It still is able to maintain its movement nicely after being plugs into the drone's back, but oh well, ya can't win 'em all! ;)

RATINGS

Aesthetics

Nick Fury:8/10 - He gets a good score only because of the head sculpt and the soft goods cloak. But then again, the modern day Nick Fury is all about being Samuel L. Jackson and wearing black, especially the long black coat. The great thing about the head is tat it's a standard head with a standard sized ball peg, so you can effectively have Fury in any outfit you want with just a switch of the head and hands! :)

Ground Assault Drone:8/10 - A fine sculpt and as movie accurate as you can can get in this scale. The shade of tan is very military and spot on, with little touches like the U.S. flag, the soldier's rank, and the star on the forearm make the figure shine.

Poseability

Nick Fury:7/10 - Fury's got Standard GI Joe moves, which is great for this figure because he's a general and not known to be overly involved in lots of action unless it involves a gun fight. And we really don't need him in all sorts of kungfu poses in a shootout. Other than that, all he needs to do is stand around a look like he's The Man, which is already 99% accomplished because he looks exactly like Sammy L.J. But if you do want him going toe-to-toe with some enemy soldiers then that's no problem because Fury can do it. It's just that usually he's got people doin' it for him. Heh.

Ground Assault Drone:7/10 - Better than expected but still limited despite the excellent use of the Iron Man 2 swivel-ball joints found in the hips/legs of almost all the figures. Still, these assault drones are bulky and stiff and made in the movie by a presumably half-hearted Ivan Vanko. They are also drones, so they're expected to be stiff and robot-like when being remote controlled.

But what they do, they do well, and that's looks stable and bulky and tank-like. A few of these in group of soldiers will make the squad look pretty heavy-artillery.

Fun

Nick Fury:7/10 -Having a figure made to an actor's likeness is always fun, especially when they nail it as they have here. Hasbro were probably just banking on this being an exclusive figure to sell the set and didn't give the guy (and as a result us as well) very much to play with. Things like a usable holster and an extra firearm are simple inclusions that could have boosted the fun value of Fury. But the figure gets away with a decent rating because of the Sam Jackson likeness and the removable jacket.

Ground Assault Drone:8/10 - I always like army builders. They looks good on their own, in a bunch, or just as cannon fodder for your hero to beat up on. But they've given this figure great joints and play value with the shoulder cannon and the expandable feet. Having the drones in a standard army tan also allows them to go with your Desert Assault Joes/COBRA dudes and still not look out of place. These drones will be in the background for lots more stuff here at Chase Variant in the future, and are set for lots of appearances now that I've got a set of three!

Value

Nick Fury: 7/10 -Even though they completely reused GI Joe parts, Hasbro did take the effort to mix and match to come up with a unique body. But the new head sculpt alone is worth it. Throw in the lone handgun that indicates a distinct lack of super powers, a long black jacket that says 'cooler than Neo', and a holster harness that can't be used and it's there or thereabouts.

Ground Assault Drone:8/10 - Great new sculpt for drones and great effort put in the paint alone makes this guy worth it. But throw in the detachable shoulder cannon, clamp-feet feature, and the fact that ya get two of him in one pack and ya got good stuff.

Overall

Nick Fury: 7.25/10 -Good figure, but could've been better. Given how Marvel figures haven't been pimped out to the max with accessories, I guess it's no surprise that Fury doesn't get different treatment. He's what you'd expect--great likeness, good articulation, and hard to find. He's going right next to my Ultimate Iron Man and Captain America. All we need to round the original Ultimates up now is Crazy Gray Hulk and Hippie Thor. Those will not be their names when/if they are released. I hope. :P

Ground Assault Drone: 7.75/10 - Of all the drones (the sea, weapon, and air assaults, and the Hammer so far),the most 'practical' because you can use them most anywhere with anyone and they'd work great as soldiers/heavy artillery forces. Also, there the easiest to "army-build" because you get two in a pack as opposed to buying each individually or in the case of Sea Assault, having one come in a 3-pack. I don't have any of the others, but I do love the expandable feet which only these drones have. They'll look great as good guys, bad guys, or even a pile of (beaten up) guys. The true star of this 4-pack.

4-Pack Overall Rating: 8/10 - Two new figures and a corrected repaint of Mark VI. Beats Mark V repaints, Whiplash variant (just the electrical effect that really, looks rather like pee) and Sea Drones. I mean, come on, Sea Drones? We'll need to specially bring in the Sub-Mariner just so they can get some action and get beat up in the process for terrorizing beaches and seahorses. ;)

You are correct, good sir! And thanks! Yes, this Fury is a Sam Jackson head with a softgoods coat and a GI Joe body! Thank goodness he looks great with the coat on. If the new Fury they release has at least this level of articulation, he'll be good enough, though I think he's got a sculpted plastic coat, so that could be a bummer. Kit bash, I say!

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Welcome to my world where it's all about the hunt, about bagging the prize, the much coveted, the very sought after, chase variant toy!

Ok, ok, so it's not just about rare toys. But it is about toys--how I found them, how I got them, and how I find playing with them such a joy.

I hope you discover only happiness in the toys you find. And happy hunting for those you haven't found.

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The Chase Rating System

10- I'd give an arm and a leg (plastic or otherwise) for this figure9 - I'd take your arm and leg (non-plastic) for this figure8 - It's a keeper!7- A good toy all round, perhaps some minor flaws6 - Above average with obvious flaws5 - Poor toy. Poor you! (If you've got this)4 - Toss it in the custom bin3 - I wouldn't wish this toy on anyone but your worst enemy2- Makes small children cry1- It killed my pet dog